Pre-treatment neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio is associated with neutrophil and T-cell infiltration and predicts clinical outcome in patients with glioblastoma

Sheng Han, Yang Liu, Qingchang Li, Zhonghua Li, Haipei Hou, Anhua Wu

Markers of systemic inflammation are correlated with patient survival in various cancers. The prognostic value of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) was compared with that of platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) in patients with glioblastoma. The association of NLR with neutrophil and T- cell infiltration was also explored. A total of 152 patients with glioblastoma were retrospectively analyzed. Clinical information was obtained from electronic medical records. Kaplan-Meier analysis and the Cox proportional hazards models were used to examine the survival function of pre-treatment NLR and PLR in these glioblastoma patients. Neutrophil and CD3(+) T-cell infiltration was assessed by immunohistochemical staining of tissue microarray cores from glioblastomas. Pre-treatment NLR levels were significantly correlated with overall survival (OS) in glioblastoma patients (multivariate hazard ratio =1.050; 95 % confidence interval, 1.003-1.100; P = 0.037). Despite the correlation between NLR and PLR (R = 0.509, P < 0.001), NLR was superior to PLR as a prognostic factor. High pre-treatment NLR (≥4 versus < 4) was significantly associated with high neutrophil infiltration and low CD3(+) T-cell infiltration into tumors, and predicted poor OS (mean, 10.6 vs. 17.9 months, P < 0.001). Pre-treatment NLR is of prognostic significance independent of MGMT status and is superior to PLR as a prognostic factor. Our results demonstrate a correlation between elevated peripheral blood NLR levels and increased tumor neutrophil infiltration/decreased CD3(+) T-cell infiltration.